Cipher-v-Cypher
by Macabre Crafter
Summary: "W-who are you?" Dipper stammered, looking up into the teenager's golden eyes. The teen stared down at him, a look of pure authority crossing her features. "I've gone by many names in the past: Mother Earth, Artemis, Demon, Okami... But I've always preferred Cypher..."
1. Chapter 1

**((A/N Oh my gosh, Macabre is alive! Yeah, I am. Hey lovelies. How you guys be doing? Great, not great, meh? Comment down in the the comments below. I wanna know how my lovelies are doing. Really, I do. Anyways, I've been doing a lot of junk over the summer, and then I got into Gravity Falls. Yeah...you guys can see where that led me... Anywho, I suppose that's it so...see ya on the flip side. Ciao lovelies.))**

 _Ugh...m-my head. What...what happened?_ The brunette pre-teen thought as he steadily opened his dark eyes. He was lying on his back, surrounded by a void of nothingness. Ignoring the throbbing in his head, the child sat up, then stood, looking around at the void. _What's going on?_ He pondered. _Am I dreaming?_

"Hello?" he called out, his voice echoing. "HELLO?!" he called again, louder this time. When he received no answer, he sighed. "Well Dipper, looks like you'll have to find your own way out," he muttered to himself, before setting off in a random direction.

Dipper walked for what seemed like forever, calling out to anyone who might hear him.

It was little while longer before he came to a solitary door. It looked to be made of some sort of metal, as it had a slight sheen to it. Raising a brow, Dipper stepped closer to the door, taking a cautious peek behind it to see if there was anything.

Nothing.

He placed his hand tentatively on the door's surface, wondering if it was a mirage.

Solid.

 _It's not even metal...but wood!_ Dipper thought, running his hand along the door's surface. It has a slight, smooth texture, making it feel almost like iron, and the sheen it had made it look like said metal.

The brunette's gaze drifted down to the door knob, which looked like one of those pretty, old-fashioned bronze knobs that were intricately designed. Placing his hand over the knob, Dipper sighed deeply before twisting it and opening the door.

He instantly wished he hadn't.

Beyond the door, everything was greyscale, save for azure flames that danced everywhere, and various creatures that were trying to escape said flames.

Walking around, Dipper looked at his surroundings, taking in each scene before him. Bodies lay everywhere, charred beyond recognition, and some still burning; deep chasms that opened up from nowhere, swallowing victims by the dozen; a blue inferno spreading in all directions, cutting off almost all escape routes.

"Dipper!" someone shouted, startling Dipper. The pre-teen looked around, looking for the source of the voice.

"DIPPER!" the voice called again, sounding more distressed...and much more familiar.

"Mabel?!" Dipper called out, running in the general direction he heard his twin's voice come from.

"Dipper, please!" Mabel's voice called out again, sounding closer.

Dipper ran faster than he'd ever run, desperate to help his sister, until he came to a sudden halt, eyes widening at the scene that lay before him.

He saw two fawns, one light tan in color, strange, glowing blue marks forming a star upon its flank; the other was a darker shade, more brown than tan, with the same strange blue markings, though these formed the shape of the Big Dipper. The lighter one had tears trekking down its young face as it was trying to help the other, who was half-pinned underneath a fallen tree.

"Come on, Dipper!" the light fawn said to the darker fawn. "You can do it!"

The darker fawn, Dipper, savagely kicked his hind-quarters, trying his best to loosen himself from the tree's grasp. No matter what he did though, he couldn't seem to pry himself loose.

"It's no use, Mabel," he said, sounding exactly like the human Dipper standing just feet away. "Just go on and catch up with the others."

"N-no! No I won't do that to you!" Deer Mabel exclaimed, widening her brown eyes at her brother. "We can figure this out! We always d-"

"Mabel, now's not the time to argue!" Deer Dipper semi-snapped back at her. "Just go!"

Mabel feared up even more, shaking her head violently. "There has to be something!"

"Mabel, for the last time, run!" the dark fawn shouted, his voice cracking at the end.

The human Dipper, while confused with the whole "deer-versions-of-he-and-his-twin" thing, rushed over to help the two young fawns, but a large black mass intersecting his path stopped him. He skidded, and fell, looking up at the mass.

It was a wolf, black as ebony, standing there, looking at the two fawns.

"D-don't you dare hurt them!" Dipper yelled at the wolf, though the creature didn't even flick its tail in his direction.

 _Does it not hear me?_ Dipper thought frantically.

The wolf moved toward the fawns, the tip of its tail twitching slightly.

"NO!" Dipper shouted, trying to grab hold of the wolf to divert its attention from the fawns onto him, if only for a second.

His hand slid right through the wolf's leg...as if he didn't exist. _W-what?!_ Dipper thought, staring in shock at his hand, his breathing becoming slightly quicker.

"Lady!" Mabel exclaimed, and Dipper quickly forgot about his hand as he looked up, seeing the deer version of his sister trotting quickly up to the wolf.

"Shooting Star," the wolf said, her voice echoing. "What happened?"

A fresh set of tears sprang to Mabel's eyes as she nuzzled the she-wolf. "We were running, along with Wendy and Zeus, but the flames were everywhere! We got separated...and then we were on the verge of meeting up again, when a chasm opened up. It...it...Wendy and Zeus fell in! I almost did too, but Dipper saved me. But then the tree fell, and now...now he wants me to leave him!"

The she-wolf stroked Mabel's back with a paw, and then walked over to the tree that kept Deer Dipper prisoner.

"When you feel this thing lift, I need you to get out as fast as possible. Alright, Pine Tree?" she said, meeting the fawn's soft blue eyes with her own golden gaze. Then she proceeded to push against the still-smoking tree. When the time came for the dark fawn to pry himself free, Mabel helped in pulling him out from under the tree, human Dipper watching in suspense, hoping for the best.

When he was out safely, the wolf let the tree slam back onto the ground, and glanced over at the two fawns.

Mabel was offering herself as support for her injured brother, who could barely keep himself standing upright, and Dipper could see why. He saw the way his deer counterpart's right hind-leg was twisted awkwardly, and the left back seemed unresponsive to much of anything.

The she-wolf gently laid her tail on the dark fawn's back, and he looked up at her, pain glistening in his azure eyes.

"Pine Tree...allow me," the ebony creature said, her golden eyes glistening.

Deer Dipper looked doubtful for a split second, before gently lowering himself down to a laying position, Mabel settling down right beside him.

The wolf placed a gentle paw Dipper's haunch, and before long, a soft golden glow emitted from both the wolf's body and Deer Dipper's body.

 _"Cré agus cosmos araon, cumhachtaí na beatha heed mo ghlao."_

The she-wolf chanted this phrase three times, each time the golden hue surrounding her and the fawns growing brighter.

At the end of the third repetition, the glow subsided and died, leaving everything back to its original greyscale color.

Deer Dipper and Mabel then shot up, both softly nuzzling the ebony predator.

"Thank you, Lady!" Mabel exclaimed, smiling lightly.

Dipper nodded, and the she-wolf stood.

"Now that that is taken care of, I want you two to listen closely," she said, and the fawns nodded eagerly, and human Dipper listened in as well.

"I want you to be thorough in this: make sure every creature you come across gets out of here alive. Afterwords, find the others. From there, you will have to figure it out." She then turned to leave, it Mabel jumped into her way, fear evident in her soft brown gaze.

"Wait! You're not seriously thinking of confronting him by yourself?!" she exclaimed.

"There is no other option," the wolf responded, making a motion to walk around the young doe.

Dipper blocked her this time.

"What do you mean?! There's always at least one other option! Let us help you!" he exclaimed.

"This matter does not involve the Guardians," the wolf said. "This is something that I must do alone."

"But...but we took an oath. An oath to protect the balance of the world!" Mabel stated.

"And by doing what I asked of you, you are fulfilling your oaths."

"But-"

"Enough, leanaí!" the wolf growled, averting her gaze from the two fawns. "It's much more complicated than you would understand. Just please...do this one task. If not for me, then for all who reside in this world."

The fawns glanced at each other, then at the burning forest around them. Both have a sigh.

"Alright..."

"Understood..."

The wolf gave a sigh. "Thank you, leanaí," she said, before walking away, human Dipper following her.

"Lady Cypher!" Deer Dipper called, causing the wolf and human Dipper to turn and look at him. The young buck gave a sly smile. "Kick his butt, will ya?"

The wolf, Cypher, smiled in response. "Of course, Pine Tree."

And with that, she ran off, human Dipper doing his best to keep up.

The two ran for a decent amount of time, weaving in and out between burning tree and the fleeing creatures of the forest.

Dipper was keeping surprisingly good pace with the she-wolf, keeping just short of ten feet behind her.

Cypher came to a sudden halt, her ebony fur bristling and golden eyes narrowed.

Dipper skidded to a stop just behind her, following the wolf's gaze.

There, in his line of sight, was the one entity he'd hoped to never meet again.

Bill Cipher.

 _Is this who the fawns were talking about?!_ The brunette thought, staring up at the golden Triangulum demon.

"BILL!" Cypher barked, catching the demon's attention. Dipper's blood turned to ice and his heartbeat rapidly sped up when the triangle turned his eye upon them...er...upon Cypher.

Bill instantly became a fiery red color, his eye turning black with a white slit for a pupil. "Cypher..."

Dipper turned to the she-wolf, momentarily forgetting that he could not be heard.

"Are you insane?! You can't go up against Bill! He's insane!"

Cypher paid no heed to his statements, but rather allowed a golden light to consume her. As bright as it was, the aura did not illuiminate anything around it, as opposed to cast a grand luminescence whenever she had healed Dipper's deer counterpart. The glow was duller than before, darker. When it faded, instead of a she-wolf, there stood a human in its place. Smouldering golden eyes complimented moon-pale skin, with long ebony locks to accompany it. She wore a long sleeved grey tunic and black leggings with no shoes to cover her tiny feet.

 _What...?_ Dipper thought, staring at the woman.

"Bill, this has to stop. You're destroying that which does not deserve your wrath," Cypher said, her voice strong and steady.

Bill's eye narrowed. "Everything here has earned my fury. There is no mercy for this world!" he snapped, a bright yellow flame erupting around both of his clenched fists. "And theres is also none for those who stand in my way."

Cypher let out a huff. "Very well then."

Bill flung the balls of fire at her, which she dodged with ease. A pillar of earth shot the dark-haired woman into the sky, and she somersaulted, sending down a misty, black energy stream down upon the Triangulum.

Bill blocked the attack with his dark cane. He barely had enough time to dodge the second attack from his enemy.

Cypher took his fault as an advantage, and dived toward the demon, black aura surrounding her.

The impact knocked both entities to the ground, creating a cloud of dust to go along with it.

Wide-eyed, Dipper watched as the dust cleared, revealing the two rivals to be standing, facing each other.

They stood like that for minute...thinking...analyzing each other's next move. Cypher lunged, electric yellow flames enfulfing her fist. Bill summoned sapphire flames to his hand, and proceeded to block Cypher's punch with said hand, the two flames meeting, creating a flurry of electric green sparks.

Using her other hand, Cypher aimed a punch to Bill's side, which he block with his free hand. Cypher growled, landing a swift kick to the other's middle, sending him backwards.

Bill slammed against a tree, then rose up again, his body engulfed in bright yellow flames. He went for the first blow this time, and slammed into the girl, knocking her off-balance, in which he proceeded to try and incinerate her with a large blue fireball.

The attack halfway succeeded, as Cypher did recieve a few nasty burns, but otherwise she was still in the long haul.

"You can't win, Cypher," Bill mocked, letting loose a deadly-looking red beam from his eye.

"You underestimate me," Cypher replied as she dodged the attack. She sent a barrage of flaming arrows at the triangle, then a biting wind began to whip around the area. Dipper lookes up at the sky, and his eyes widened at how dark and furious the clouds become.

A lightning storm...

 _Oh my god..._ Dipper thought, looking back at the battling entities.

Bill also drifted his gaze upwards, examining the oncoming storm. He looked back at Cypher, who had blue electricity crackling around her.

"I'm not afraid of your storms, kid," he sneered.

"It's not the storm you should be worried about," Cypher replied, her voice seeming to crack slightly. "It's the calm before the storm that you should fear."

She disappeared, reappearing behind the Triangulum. Bill looked up just in time to see a beam of light pierce through his middle, a perfect circular hole forming.

"Hey! That was my favorite bowtie!" Bill shouted, glaring at Cypher, who shrugged.

"Oops."

Enraged, Bill grew to five times his original size, and grabbed the animorph from the air, bringing her face-to-pupil.

"I've had enough of this, Cypher!" he yelled as the enchantress in his grasp struggled to get loose.

Fire burning in his eye, Bill sent Cypher to the ground via deadly energy beam.

Cypher hit the ground with a sickening thwump, unmoving.

"Oh nonononononono!" Dipper exclaimed, running over to the injured entitiy's side. "Come on, come on! Y-you can't just let him win!" he exclaimed. "He'll destroy the earth!"

"Aahahahahaa!"

The brunette snapped his head up at the sound of the loathed Triangulum's obnoxiois laughter. Oh how he hated that laugh...

Dipper opened his mouth to spew inappropriate profanities at Bill, when his...own voice interrupted himself?!

"Lady Cypher!"

Dipper turned his head to the left, and saw his and Mabel's deer counterparts.

Bill turned fiery gaze toward the two fawns.

"You two?! You should be long dead by now!" he screeched, his fists erupting once again into flames.

"I told you two no!" Cypher exclaimed weakly.

"Yes well, I think the kids are more afraid of me than you, Lady," a familar gruff voice said from Dipper's right.

Dipper turned his head to see a relatively large grey stag standing there, dark eyes shining with mischief.

"Stanley...," Cypher murmured, shaking her head. "Where you are, the rest are not far behind..

"We couldn't just leave ya hanging, Bosslady," a black raven said, landing on Deer Dipper's shoulder.

"Honestly, stop trying tk do these things on your own," a fluffy red fox stated, sitting next to Dipper. "It kills the major bonding vibes we all got for each other."

"And besides," another voice said, coming from a dull grey-brown stag, "...what kinds of Guardians don't help theor friend save the world from insufferable peril?"

"It's totally not worth making myself presentable if there will be no one to appreciate what I look like. So I'll help too," a platinum linx said, standing beside a large brown bear cub.

"An' besides, we're all friends, right? We always stick together," an elegant dove said. Speaking in a horrifically familiar southern drawl.

"You lot...," Cypher muttered, a slight smile crossing her features. The smile quickly faded when Bill let out a highly exaggerated yawn.

"While this is nice and all, what with the whole 'friendship sentimentality' and whatnot, I'm kind of in the process of DESTROYING YOU!"

"Oh get over yourself, Cipher," the fox said, twitching her tail slightly.

Cypher looked between Bill and the Guardians who'd come to help, and came to a conclusion.

"You know there's only...one way to do this without...without completely destroying everything, right?" she asked them, a glint forming in her golden gaze.

The Guardians all glanced at each other briefly, then nodded.

"We'll do whatever it takes," Deer Dipper said.

 _What...are they doing?_ Human Dipper pondered as he watched the scene unfold before him.

Cypher nodded, then stood on shaky legs. "Alright...everyone concentrate. I'll get this going," she said, facing Bill, who lit his hands ablaze again.

"And just what do you plan to do, kid?" he asked, glancing warily at the silent Guardians.

"This," Cypher replied, and the sky rumbled with thunder, crackling with blue electricity. _"Triangulum..."_

The hole in Bill's chest closed up, becoming replaced by an empty cipher wheel.

"What are you doing?!" Bill exclaimed, returning to his normal golden-yellow color.

 _"Entangulum."_

Mabel and Stanley disappeared, and two symbols appeared on the wheel: a shooting star and a strange crescent shape.

"Stop it!" A light blue energy sphere formed around the demon.

 _"Metaforis Dominus Ventium."_

The cub, fox, and raven were next: a question mark, a stiched heart, and a bag labeled ICE.

"Cypher!"

 _"Metaforis Venetisarium."_

The brown stag, the linx, and the dove faded as well, and three more symbols appeared: a pentacle, a pair of glasses, and a llama.

"Don't!"

 _"Asetnoheptus. Asetnoheptus. Asetnoheptus. Asetnoheptus! Aset-"_

"You're going to destroy everything you worked for! Everything you created! Your creatures, your formations! Don't be stupid!" Bill shouted, pushing against the energy sphere that was slowly shrinking around him.

Cypher paused.

"Don't listen to him!" both Human and Deer Dipper shouted.

Cypher turned to them, though only saw the derr version.

"He's playing you for a fool, Lady," Deer Dipper said. "He wants you to feel confused enough to let him go! You created this world, remember? You created this earth. Look around you. This is your home, and he invaded it. Now it's time to take it back," he stated, giving a small smile.

Cypher stared at him a moment longer, then smiled slightly. "You're right..." She turned to Bill. "I'm not destroying everything I've worked for...I'm destroying everything you've worked for."

"Cypher! This is a mistake!" Bill shouted, the ever-shrinking sphere constricting his movements.

"Sorry, Bill...," Cypher said, looking away. _"Asetnoheptus."_

Deer Dipper faded away, and two more symbols appeared on the wheel: a journal, and a pine tree.

The area glowed with an electric blue hue, illuminating the entirety of the forest and beyond.

"You realize you'll lose your powers right?! You won't be able to help your precious people!" Bill shouted.

"Wrong. While my powers for the majority will be gone, nothing can stop me from living until the end of time. I will be here to watch my people grow and prosper."

Bill growled, and the sphere stopped shrinking, but suddenly it opened into a vortex of sorts, taking the greyscale hue away.

"So until the end, I banish you. Roam your Mindscape for eternity. Dwelve in your thoughts and rot."

The last of the grey was sucked away, and with s dull pop, the vortex disappeared, along with Bill Cipher and the luminescent blue light.

Dipper stared at the sky where Bill disappeared for a long time, until he finally looked over at Cypher.

The she-wolf was back, sitting solemnly on the ground, her head tilted up. Though her mouth never moved, Dipper hrard her next thoughts clear as day.

 _Farewell, Bill Cipher... It was fun while it lasted..._

She stood, walking off towards a large mountain.

 _History will repeat itself...until then, I will watch my world. And maybe one day...I'll find them all again_.

Dipper was about to run after her, but a chasm in the ground opened up, and he fell through, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He sat up quickly, feeling himself to see if he was all there.

"I'm...I'm alive!" he exclaimed. "Yes!"

A pillow whacked himninbthe face, and he glared over at his sister, who settled herself back under her covers. Dipper smiled, then frowned. He looked over to the desk, where he kept journal 3.

It was glowing...

A light...blue...hue...

Cautiously, Dipper got out of his bed and walked over to the desk, opening it to the glowing page.

The black silhouette of Bill Cipher was glowing, and when the light died, an upside down triangle with a slash through the bottom corner appeared in blue over the black drawing.

The alchemical symbol for earth.

A tingling sensation on his head made Dipper go over to the full length mirror on Mabel's side of the room. He lifted his bangs to see his birthmark.

It was now a blue color.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

 **((Well lovelies...that was that. Hope yoy enjoyed...**

 **It tooke me four days T^T And yes,I did intend to spell Soos as Zeus...**

 **See ya soon. Ciao lovelies.))**


	2. Chapter 2

"It doesn't make sense!" Dipper exclaimed, pacing back-and-forth across the basement floor. His Gruncle Ford was sitting at his work-desk, following the boys' motions with his eyes, a look of concern spread across his features.

"Will you just calm down for a moment, Dipper?" he asked. "You'll work yourself up, and then nothing will be able to be thought through."

Dipper stopped his pacing, looking over at his aged relative. He sighed. "You're right...but what is there to discuss? It's all too connected to be a coincidence, but the journal can't possibly be connected with my mind...right?" he asked, glancing warily at the journal that Stanford had let him keep.

"I'm not going to rule it out, but it is highly improbable. Let's just look at the facts here, alright?" Stanford said, patting a stack of papers that stood next to him.

Dipper walked over to the stack, and sat down, propping his elbows on his knees. "Alright..."

"Alright then, let's start from the beginning," Stanford said, opening the journal to the page that contained the information on Bill Cipher. "Alright, you said that your dream started with nothing, correct?"

"Right. There was nothing but the void around me," Dipper replied, nodding.

"And after walking for a while, you came across a door?"

"Yeah..."

"Was there anything special about the door? Any unusual symbols or textures? Any giveaway markings?" Stanford asked, flipping through the journal.

"Not that I'm aware of. I mean, the door looked and felt like metal, but turned out to be wood," Dipper said, scratching his neck awkwardly.

Stanford nodded slightly, still flipping through the journal. He stopped on a page that listed information about several rare trees.

"Steel-wood," he said. "According to my notes, steel-wood was a tree native only to Oregon. It would not grow in any other state, due to the unique qualities of the soil here. Thirty years ago, when I documented this, there were only a couple dozen left, all of which were kept around Circle Park," Stanford said. "Many people believe that they are just normal, endangered plants," he continued, giving a glance in Dipper's direction, "...but that's not true. These trees-and I have experienced this first hand-have the power to store the past within their wood. Now, many people call tell you that every tree does this, that the pattern of their rings can tell you what happened in it's lifetime. While this is true, the steel-wood does it...differently. Each ring contains hundreds of memories- environmental, human, animal, you name it. Anything that touches these trees can have their memories stored within the wood of them, and they will stay there until the end of time."

"Sounds a bit far-fetched," Dipper said, narrowing his eyes skeptically. "How would one prove that these trees could do that?"

"I'm getting there," Stanford stated. "There is a way to extract and see the memories trapped within the tree. First one would have to find a Meliae-an ash tree Nymph. Once found, you would have to make an offering of milk and honey. Only then would she be willing to help you, as you have proven to know proper forest Nymph customs," he continued, flipping the page. "At this point, take the Nymph to the steel-wood tree, and politely ask to extract whichever memories you wish to see." He closed the book. "And there you have it."

Dipper still looked slightly skeptical. "But what does that have to do with my dream? It still doesn't add up," he said.

"No, but it does give us somewhere to start. We know the steel-wood is basically a memory storage unit. We know that your mysterious door was made of steel-wood. And we also know that things in Gravity Falls are not coincidences."

Dipper nodded slightly. "True..."

Stanford gave a small sigh. "The only problem will be trying to connect the pieces. As you may already know, finding all the pieces to the puzzle in this town is always a challenge."

"Well...we could always start with trying to find a...what was it called...? A Meliae?" Dipper questioned.

"That might work, though it would be difficult. You don't know what time period your dream occurred in, nor do you know if the tree that would have contained that memory still stands," Stanford countered, though he seemed to agree with the plan. "It would be worth a shot, however...if it doesn't work out, then we'll try something else."

Dipper thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "Alright...I'll see if I can't go later this evening," he said, sliding off the paper stack and grabbing the journal off of Stanford's work desk. "Thanks, Uncle Ford," he said, running up the stairs to exit the basement.

"No problem, kiddo," Stanford said, though his nephew was long gone. He turned his dark brown gaze to the journal marked '1'. Opening to the first page, he stared for a long moment at the page. It was one of the oldest pages within all the journals, and was generally messier than most. The rough sketch had been scratched out, and the creature name had been crossed out furiously with red ink, as had most of the notes-not by Stanford's doing, but by someone else... On top of that, the page was torn slightly at the bottom corner, where half of a note was left.

 _\- hzev fh ..._

"No problem..."

Dipper walked outside the shack, already devising a plan on how he would find a Meliae later that evening, when something bright and pink whizzed past his head, hitting and splattering against the tree right behind him. Dipper jumped in surprise, and looked behind him at the tree, which now had a portion of it's bark stained pink.

"Hey Dipper!" Mabel's voice called from in front of the brunette preteen. Dipper turned his head back to the front, and saw his twin sister, Mabel, pointing her Nyarf-brand paintball gun at him, a wide smile adorning her features.

Dipper slowly put his hands up, showing he meant no harm. "O-ho-kay Mabel, put the gun down. I'm just passing through," he stated, smiling lightly.

"Oh-ho no, Dip-Dunk. You promised to play Paintball with Soos, Wendy and me," Mabel replied, her smile growing wider.

Dipper laughed nervously. "I...heh...I did?" he asked, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Yeeesss," Mabel said, drawing out the word, "...you did."

"I don't remember," Dipper said.

"Dude, you were like half-asleep when we asked," Soos said, struggling to fasten the strap on his paintball vest.

"But you did promise nevertheless," Wendy said, loading her Nyarf gun.

"Oh...," Dipper said, averting his gaze. "Well...I kind of had something to-"

"Not getting out of it!" Mabel exclaimed, grabbing her brother's arm and dragging him over the fallen log, where paintball equipment was scattered everywhere.

"But I have-"

"Oh come on Dipper! Just one game?" Mabel asked, giving Dipper puppy eyes.

Dipper tried to hold her gaze, but failed within the first fifteen seconds. He sighed. "Alright...one game."

"Yes!" Mabel exclaimed, throwing a black paintball vest at him. "Hurry and get ready then!"

Dipper rolled his eyes slightly, slipping on the vest and fastening it. He grabbed one of the protective helmets from the log, and removed his hat before slipping the helmet on, strapping it to fit his head size. He picked up the knee and elbow pads left for him and slipped those on as well. He picked up one of the CO2 tanks, but didn't know what to do with it, so he took a sneaky glance around at everyone else's guns, and saw that it was attached to a tube under the main body piece. He attached the tank, and grabbed his final piece, the bulk-feeder, and attached it to the top of his body piece.

"Alright," he said. "I'm ready."

"Yes!" Mabel exclaimed, flipping down the plastic screen of her helmet. "Girls versus boys!"

Soos fist-pumped the air. "Aw yes! Dipper, we can totally kick some girl butt," he stated, holding up his gun.

Dipper nodded, looking over at Wendy, who was adjusting her helmet. Dipper...you're over her. It's just a paintball game... he thought to himself, walking towards Soos.

Mabel jumped up and down several times, before announcing. "Alright! One team goes west, the other goes east! After ten minutes, we'll start our hunt!" She smiled. "GO!"

Soos and Dipper took off towards the east, while Mabel and Wendy ran to the west.

It was a good five minutes before Soos and Dipper finally stopped, panting and sweating. Soos collapsed onto the ground, his chest heaving.

"Du...dude! Man do...down," he said, flipping onto his back.

"Come on, man," Dipper huffed out, leaning against a tree for support. "We need to think of a strategy."

Soos let out a groan of protest, before sitting up and walking over to the preteen. "Okay dude...what...what's the plan?"

"Well for starters, the girls are good at hidden combat," Dipper said, setting his weapon down. "Which means they'll most likely stay in the bushes or in the trees."

"And if they don't?" Soos asked.

"If they don't, then we'll have to advance and pray for the best," Dipper said, flipping up his helmet screen to breathe fresh, woodsy air.

"Sounds like a plan," Soos said, removing his helmet entirely.

"Alright. Now we've only got about a minute before we have to start, so...let's do this."

Dipper flipped down his screen, and Soos replaced his helmet, and they both set back towards the west, keeping their senses on high alert.

Five minutes passed, and all was quiet...too quiet.

Dipper held his hand up, signaling Soos to stop moving, and he crouched, listening for any slight movements.

When he heard nothing after a moment, he stood up. "Nothing," he murmured, glancing over at Soos, who gripped his gun tighter.

The duo walked a little further, keeping an eye out for any signs of Mabel and Wendy.

The sound of a twig snapping sent the boys into a panic, and they shot repeatedly in the direction of the sound. They ceased fire after a few seconds, and waited...

A moment passed before a doe came out of the brush, her fur slightly ruffled in some places and multiple colors staining the soft brown color.

Soos laughed. "Aw dude, haha, we colored the deer!"

Dipper couldn't help but laugh along beside Soos, but it was short-lived, as a red paintball whizzed past the two, hitting the tree beside the doe, causing it the run off.

Dipper and Soos snapped their gazes to the girls behind them, readying their weapons.

"Hi boys~" Mabel sang, her gun hoisted on her shoulder, a hand on her hip.

Wendy was leaning against the tree, her gun beside her on the ground. As Soos went to aim, she quickly picked it up aiming it with one hand at Soos's chestplate.

"Quite a predicament we've found ourselves in, huh?" Mabel asked, still smiling. It was starting to get a little creepy. "What do you think, Wendy? Should we take them out? Or just one for now?"

"I think one would do good for now. It'll be fun trying to hunt the other one down."

Dipper gulped. _They're talking like they actually mean to kill us._.. he thought, gripping his gun, keeping his aim steady.

Mabel nodded, a thoughtful expression crossing her features. "Yes...but which one?"

"I say we make Soos run," Wendy said, shifting her aim to Dipper, who took a step back, lowering his gun slightly.

"Good call," Mabel said, lifting her gun to aim at her twin.

"Run, little dude!" Soos exclaimed, firing at the two girls, making them lose their concentration.

Dipper, ignoring Soos, fired at the two as well.

Mabel and Wendy ducked for cover, hiding behind some trees, returning fire when they could. Neither had been hit, but the attack had thrown them off slightly.

Mabel peeked from behind the tree, narrowly dodging a green paintball, took aim, and fired.

The paintball flew, the sunlight making it's bright orange color look like flames. The ball hit it's mark exploding into a burst of color.

"I'm hit!" Soos exclaimed, taking a knee. He kept firing, though couldn't dodge the paintballs that pelted his chubby body.

"Soos!" Dipper exclaimed, dodging paintballs as he glanced over at his friend.

"Dude, run!" Soos shouted, belly-flopping in front of Dipper to take a blue paintball in the shoulder.

Dipper hesitated a second, but when he saw Wendy peek from behind her tree and aim her gun at him, he ran.

He could hear Mabel's and Wendy's footsteps thundering behind him, which only drove Dipper to run faster. He ran until his lungs ached for regular breathing, until his legs strained for relaxation. He glanced back to see if he could spot either Wendy or Mabel behind, but in doing so, he tripped, tumbling to the side and off a ledge.

It wasn't a terribly steep ledge, and was only six feet from the ground, but the impact was enough to knock whatever breath out of Dipper nonetheless.

Dipper lay there on the ground, trying to regulate his breathing. It took a few moments, but eventually he began to breathe normally. Dipper sat up, looking around.

There were a number of pine trees here, as well as a few woodland creatures. A rabbit hopped cautiously from behind a bush, its nose twitching slightly. A pair of squirrels played tag among the boughs of the trees. The tip-tapping of a woodpecker sounded nearby, and a raven pecked at the ground.

Dipper couldn't help but feel uneasy. He stood up slowly, picking up his paintball gun. He held it close, and began to walk away.

The wind began to pick up, and swirled around the preteen. Dipper stopped, looking up at the sky; dark clouds began to sweep across the sky, blocking out the sunlight, and the temperature dropped a significant amount. Dipper shuddered, clutching his gun closer.

 _Dipper..._

"W-who's there?!" Dipper exclaimed, his voice cracking. He frantically looked around, looking for the source of the whispery voice.

There was no answer, but the wind seemed to pick up. It forcefully blew against Dipper's back, making him stumble forward.

Dipper tried to walk away, to get under cover from the wind, but the force kept pushing him forward. Dipper finally decided not to fight it, and went whichever direction the wind led him.

He walked, guided by the wind, for what seemed like forever, until at last everything seemed to calm, though the storm clouds overhead remained.

Dipper looked around; he was in a small clearing, surrounded by pine and oak trees. There was a rocky cliff-face on one side, blocking escape in that direction. There was an opening in the cliff-face, surrounded by overgrown weeds and shrubs and moss. Dipper stared at the opening, stared into the black depths, stared into the nothingness it provided.

 _Come inside..._

Dipper stepped back; it was that voice again. "Who are you?" he questioned, forcefully keeping his voice from cracking again.

The wind picked up once again, swirling around the boy.

 _Come inside..._ the voice beckoned again.

Dipper involuntarily stepped forward, and the wind urged him on. He finally just walked his own way to the mouth of the cave, and peered inside, seeing nothing.

"Hello?" he called.

No answer.

"Hello?!" he called again.

The wind subsided, and Dipper stepped inside the cave. He kept his gun close, and glanced warily around him, watching every shadow.

Before long, he came to a small area in the cave that was illuminated by electric-blue crystals that were scattered everywhere.

"H-hello?" Dipper questioned, his voice quivering slightly.

A movement in the corner of his eye made Dipper jump, and he aimed his weapon at the shadows.

The figure slowly moved from its corner to a spot of light cast by one of the glowing crystals. Dipper nearly dropped his gun in surprise.

It was a wolf, almost as tall as his Grunkle Stan. It's fur was a deep ebony black, given a slight blue hue from the crystal's glow; the wolf was of lean build, and had a slight muscle build, indicating that the creature was quick on it's feet, and powerful with its attacks.

Dipper stepped back, but a gust of wind from the outside pushed him forward again. He stepped closer to the wolf, and it made no move to attack him. A slight tingling sensation from his forehead made Dipper put a hand to his birthmark. He took a glance in a crystal, lifting his bangs slightly, seeing that his mark was glowing blue again.

He whipped his gaze back to the wolf, and found himself staring into hypnotic, golden eyes.

 _Dipper..._

The wolf touched the tip of its nose to Dipper's forehead, and the preteen's world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

p data-p-id="dbb2e6181aae69304e2299278f679f0b"strong~~~/strongbr /Dipper's eyes opened slowly, blue irises peering around at his surroundings. He was in another void, it seemed, though unlike the one from his previous dream, many different doors littered the blank space./p  
p style="text-align: left;" data-p-id="d7daa873200efba75c04a0fceff7d608"Slowly sitting up, Dipper glanced around, looking at the different doors. They were all uniquely crafted, and each seemed to be from a different era of some sort./p  
p style="text-align: left;" data-p-id="fd8259013f1f142e1e0aa5fbb58dfd62"emWhat...what is this/emem? /emhe thought, raising a curious brow./p  
p style="text-align: left;" data-p-id="863ad1fa1e2d83560ce60db7ac3a177c"A breeze from nowhere blew around Dipper, bringing him a flurry of whispers that swirled through his mind./p  
p style="text-align: left;" data-p-id="aaaba13671aaa02a5ed20f0e58ddec67"emMemories~/embr /emThey're her memories~/embr /emHer memories~/embr /emThe doors~/embr /emThe memory doors~/embr /emOpen them~/embr /emSee them~/embr /emSee her memories~/embr /emRemember~/embr /emYes, remember~/em/p  
p data-p-id="d35d93ece31d10e31f8b0bb9e60feba2""Stop!" Dipper exclaimed, holding his head./p  
p data-p-id="a3fd05441388a992013cd375cbb38800"The voices went on for a couple more seconds, then faded away, leaving the boy in silence./p  
p data-p-id="a39d587c24ddae3907984f3689b42d94"Dipper lifted his head after the voices left, and glanced at the doors again./p  
p data-p-id="1ec9037e87b5b2fda1b53d66f8bf2d36"emThey said these were her memories...but who is 'her'? /emDipper thought. He began to pace around, trying to decide if he wanted to open a door or not. emCould they be talking about that she-wolf in the cave? If so, then who is she? /em/p  
p data-p-id="395411fc6f640b37482f17f2f9b05892"He continued to pace, deep in thought./p  
p data-p-id="e26d1a79cc884b6256f432b335c015cb"emCould it have something to do with my dream? /em/p  
p data-p-id="d0f898959de501cc15d795022f3e9ec9"He stopped. emIf that's the case...then... /emDipper's eyes widened, then he shook his head. "That's not possible," he said aloud to himself. "But...at the same time..."/p  
p data-p-id="60300a47da50295af6546a82aa8f3e22"Dipper looked up at a door; it was made of the same silvery wood that the door from his dream had been-steel-wood, Stanford had called it. Dipper cautiously placed his hand on the simple, dark wooden knob of the door, his breath becoming shaky./p  
p data-p-id="ff71e1b656a08e884db5dcc47df2b517"emCome on, Dipper, you can do this /emhe thought to himself before twisting the knob./p  
p data-p-id="995e1c7ceb4bbc6a7482542f1ccb93fd"He opened the door, flinching slightly when the hinges squealed softly. Taking a deep breath, Dipper stepped through the doorway into a new memory./p  
p data-p-id="8ff46683ab979155918b56fa7610d2cd""Holy...cow...," he breathed, looking around at his surroundings./p  
p data-p-id="937bfcb9c116ed80bf63f6b4fed69e0d"The scene was breathtaking! Dipper was standing before a lush, green forest speckled with the different colors of exotic plants. He walked through the forest, taking the beauty./p  
p data-p-id="4a2a7dd52d1f125dffc781b39f3f378e"A loud purring sound came from behind him, and he turned around; he nearly had a heart attack at what he saw./p  
p data-p-id="9b6f0c9425710f409676eefbf0c5cc46"A Maiasaura...a living, breathing Maiasaura! Dipper looked on in awe as the 'good-mother' dinosaur poked at an overgrown fern, making more purring noises. Stepping slightly closer to the creature, and glanced down at the bush. There, under the green leaves of the growth, were two smaller Maiasaura, hiding beneath the fern. Dipper watched as the presumed mother tried to coax the little ones out from under the bush, but the young dinosaurs stayed put, giving tiny yips in their mother's direction. The mother Maiasaura gave a look in Dipper's direction, and the brunette preteen froze up, wondering if the adult dinosaur had possibly seen or heard him./p  
p data-p-id="c21036418ee17501b4c7928eedec7e4e"A terrifying screech from behind him told the boy otherwise. Slowly, he turned around, his eyes widening when he saw what stood there/p 


End file.
